The rush to judge what we see as some character flaw in another human being is the speed at which the false self races to hide from itself a similar imperfection.

The great gulf between what a man knows is true and his ability to be true is wide indeed; but, take heart: no one ever managed to cross the river of Life who didn't first stand before it -- realizing that of his own strength he will never succeed -- and then, by a faith born of knowing he must dare the waters -- begin to swim. Those who choose to make this crossing find what those who don't n...

The end of suffering is not found in the pursuit of freedom from suffering, but in realizing the divided nature of desire that imagines and identifies with a pain-free time or a place to come, only to imprison itself in a fear it may lose the heaven it has imagined.

Topics covered: Independence is innocence. When a person is truly independent, he or she is rooted in an incorruptible nature that seeks nothing outside of itself; An act of true kindness can't be disturbed. An act of true kindness does not place any demands upon the recipient of that kindness. Kindness does not look for confirmation or validationk; The nature that is not aware of itself depends on conditions and people outside of itself to confirm its sense of self.

Looking for the meaning of any experience by taking thought about it is like focusing your attention on the single thread of a magnificent tapestry and hoping to understand the story it tells by analyzing that one thread. The story is so much bigger than that and... so is your true Self.

Being 'clever,' or 'strong' enough to escape unwanted moments is not the same as escaping the fearful nature within us that creates them. Freedom, real freedom, is not being able to successfully avoid the things we fear; rather, it is the moment-to-moment realization of a relationship with the whole of Life... wherein we can see that who we are, our True Self, has nothing to fear in this world...

Winning power, or achieving worldly influence can never make us feel whole, or deliver us from the irreconcilable loneliness -- and fear -- of feeling apart from others, or from life itself. Only through our consistent, persistent interior work to be whole can we hope to realize the power -- the presence of those higher influences -- without which it is impossible to overcome all that we would...

When it comes to comparing the rewards of this world -- its powers and pleasures -- to the possibility of realizing spiritual freedom, there is no such thing as the 'next best thing.' But, as always, each must weigh such considerations for oneself, and prepare to live the consequences of that decision: is it better to 'die' a free man or woman, or to live as a foolish one who realizes, too lat...

Topics covered:  We always find fault with what captures us instead of finding fault with what got captured. "The fox condemns the trap, not himself." -- William Blake; In the same instant that we identify with what we believe will make us whole, there is fear that we will lose it. Then we set out to protect what we have identified with; How can we be immersed in suffering and yet not know anything about it? We don't question our suffering; we question what we believe is the source of it.

Topics covered:  The purpose of life is to wake up from the dream life you are in and discover a new relationship with the life that is everlasting; If regret is such a great tool for self change, then why doesn't it work? We go over regrets constantly, so something in us must believe that they are useful; Regret does not transform the self. It ensures the continuation of the lower nature that condemns us through those same regrets.

One of the greater misunderstandings about our existence on earth is that most believe, in one way or another, that it is intended to be a place of rest; but it is not. Our life on earth, like everything created upon it, is a test... Where not only are we weighed as to what we can and will agree to bear, but so is our heart being constantly examined as to what it loves and places above all els...

How many times have you found yourself thinking you'd like to develop a new skill or sharpen an old one? Maybe you've wanted to learn another language or play a musical instrument; further your education; or get up out of your easy chair and do some catch-up on that correspondence you've been putting off for weeks! But in each, or at least most, of these instances, before you can even get sta...